Tinubu orders EFCC to vacate court order freezing Osun

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately return to court to vacate the order freezing the bank accounts of the Osun State Government, saying the timing of the action could undermine public confidence in the credibility of the forthcoming governorship election.

In a statement issued by the State House on Thursday, August 6, the President said he was embarrassed by the timing of the anti-graft agency’s action.

“It has come to my notice that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government,” Tinubu said.

He added: “I must state that I feel deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order, but by the timing of the agency’s action.”

Tinubu stressed that he had consistently allowed anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies to operate independently since assuming office and had deliberately refrained from interfering in their operational activities.

The president, however, said the timing of the account freeze, coming days before the August 15 Osun governorship election, made it necessary for him to intervene in the overriding public interest.

“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election,” he noted.

Tinubu added that although he had yet to receive a full briefing on the facts that informed the EFCC’s decision to seek the court order, preserving public confidence in the electoral process required immediate action, he stated.

He consequently directed the commission to “immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard.”

The president’s directive comes less than 24 hours after the EFCC confirmed that it had frozen the Osun State Government’s accounts as part of an investigation into the alleged fraudulent handling of about ₦11 billion in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations.

The commission said the investigation, which began in March 2026, involved allegations of financial misconduct and that senior government officials, including the state’s Accountant General, had been questioned by investigators.

According to the EFCC, it sought and obtained a Post No Debit order after detecting what it described as suspicious transfers of large sums from government accounts into the accounts of several corporate entities from August 2.

The anti-graft agency maintained that the action was taken solely to protect public funds and was unrelated to the August 15 governorship election.

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Before the EFCC’s statement, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke had alleged that the commission planned to freeze the state’s accounts to paralyse government activities ahead of the election.

In a statement issued through the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, Adeleke described the move as unlawful and politically motivated, arguing that the EFCC lacked the constitutional authority to freeze the accounts of a state government.

The governor also warned that the action could undermine democratic governance and fuel political tension in the state.

The ICIR reports that the controversy unfolded amid heightened political anxiety ahead of the governorship election, with the ruling Accord Party and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) exchanging accusations of intimidation and political violence despite signing a peace accord facilitated by the National Peace Committee.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled to conduct the governorship election on August 15, with Adeleke seeking a second term against APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji and other contenders.

Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M